The status of the giant panda has been improved from ‘endangered’ to ‘vulnerable’ by the International Union for Conservation of Nature.
Photograph: IUCN/PA

The most famous thing about pandas, apart from them spending all day eating bamboo and not having sex, is how endangered they are. However, the animal has just been moved off the endangered species list by the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN). Although the giant panda is still considered vulnerable, its population is much healthier – there are thought to be 1,864 adults, and although there isn’t a definitive number of cubs, the total population now exceeds 2,000. It is, noted the IUCN report, “a positive sign confirming that the Chinese government’s efforts to conserve this species are effective”. Few conservation measures have been as intensive or high profile. The work included increasing the number of panda reserves, protecting forests (such as reforestation and banning logging in panda habitats) and creating “corridors” so isolated wild panda populations can mix and strengthen the gene pool. Anti-poaching patrols, and moving humans out of reserves also helped. Pandas are still at risk, particularly from a reduction in bamboo availability owing to climate change, but it shows conservation efforts pay off. Here are some other animals that have been brought back from the brink:

Amur tiger

Although they are still classed as endangered, the Amur tiger, mostly found in Russia, was once nearly extinct. In the 1930s, just 20 to 30 animals remained. Russia banned tiger hunting in 1947, and since then other efforts have protected and increased the population. These include reducing the hunting of their prey (such as deer) and anti-poaching measures. According to a 2005 survey, there are now an estimated 360 tigers (other estimates are higher) and it was moved from critically endangered to endangered in 2007. Poaching and low genetic diversity is still a risk.

Arabian oryx

In 1972, the last wild Arabian oryx, a large antelope that once lived across the Arabian peninsula, were shot. For decades, they had been hunted almost to extinction and had already disappeared from some areas. In 1982 in Oman, the Arabian oryx was released back into the wild following a captive breeding programme using the animals that had been captured previously, often from royal collections. In later years, more were released in Saudi Arabia, United Arab Emirates, Israel and Jordan. With their numbers increased to around 1,000, and their populations stable, the IUCN downgraded the Arabian oryx from endangered to the lower threat-level of vulnerable in 2011.

Greater one-horned rhinoceros

The Indian rhinoceros, now extinct in Bangladesh and Bhutan, once roamed across the northern Indian subcontinent. In the early 20th century, hunters and tea-growers pushed their decline almost to extinction, and in 1975, there were just 600. Hunting laws, habitat protection and anti-poaching measures have resulted in the population growing to more than 3,000. After decades of being classed as endangered, the IUCN downgraded the Indian rhino to vulnerable in 2008.

Chatham petrel

Once classed as critically endangered, then endangered, the Chatham petrel, was downgraded to vulnerable in 2015, thanks to intensive conservation efforts. The pacific seabird only breeds in the Chatham Islands, 400 miles off the coast of New Zealand. Between 2002 and 2006, 200 chicks were taken to a predator-free site on one of the islands, and some bred successfully. Another 200 were transferred to the main Chatham Island. Their burrows were also protected from other seabirds.

Iberian lynx

Iberian lynx: numbers are recovering but the main threat now comes from cars. Photograph: Victor Fraile/Reuters/Corbis

Although still very rare – estimates put numbers of the wild cat at around 400 – the Iberian lynx is making a recovery and the IUCN now classifies it as endangered, rather than critically endangered. In the early 2000s, there were thought to be around just 50 adults, and only two breeding populations, both in southern Spain. It mainly eats wild rabbits, and so conservation efforts focused on restoring rabbit populations, and lynx, bred in captivity, have also been reintroduced to other areas in Spain and Portugal. Now, one of the main threats comes from cars – a record 22 lynx were killed in 2014.